“You’re wearing the Valentinos!” Tracy shrieked, half-dashing, half-dancing to us, clapping her hands, Elvira following her.

I gave her a hug and then she moved to Hawk to kiss his cheek as I gave Elvira a hug. Elvira didn’t move to Hawk to kiss his cheek, she just nodded to him, stepped back and gave me an eye sweep

“Girl, you are hot!” she declared. “That dress is hot. Those shoes are hot. And that expression on your face that says you just got you some is hot!”

I froze. Hawk chuckled and pulled me closer.

“Told you,” he whispered in my ear.

Before I could reply, Meredith and Dad approached, Gus and Maria bearing down behind them.

“Hey sweetie,” Meredith said as she got close and gave me a hug.

“Sorry we’re late,” I told her while hugging her and she stepped back but kept hold of my upper arms.

“It’s still cocktail hour. We don’t sit down for twenty minutes so you’re not late,” she smiled and turned to Hawk while Dad turned to me.

After Dad, I got hugs from Maria and Gus then everyone assumed their places in our huddle, Gus staring at me with a wicked grin on his face.

“Nice dress,” he observed, his meaning clear, I closed my eyes and Hawk chuckled again.

Moving on!

I turned to Dad and Meredith. “Can we give you your presents now?” I asked.

“Sure, honey,” Meredith replied and I opened my dark gray, satin clutch with its crystal clasp while juggling the large, manila envelope.

I pulled out the smaller, white envelope and handed it to Dad.

“Season tickets to the Broncos,” I announced and Dad stared at me. “Forty yard line. Hawk knows someone.” That was when Dad turned his stare at Hawk. “Happy anniversary, Dad,” I finished.

“Holy fuck,” Dad muttered.

“They’re from me and Cabe,” I replied, even though Hawk knew someone, I bought the tickets. This caused a fight which I won. Hawk could spoil me but I put my foot down about spoiling Dad. It cost a whack but the simple matter of fact was; Dad was worth it.

“I don’t know what to say,” Dad whispered.

“Don’t say anything and give me another hug,” I smiled at him.

He turned his eyes to me but he didn’t smile. He lifted his hand and cupped my cheek and the expression on his face caused tears to sting my eyes. He had a daughter he could not see in protective custody and a daughter who had gone through hell because of her. That said, I was alive, breathing, wearing a fantastic dress and fabulous shoes, happy and I loved him enough to get him season tickets to the Broncos, something he’d always wanted. His eyes hit mine and I knew from the look of them that he was counting his blessings and I could see that the Broncos tickets weren’t high on that list but I definitely was.

Then he dropped his hand and shook Hawk’s, clapping him on the shoulder at the same time.

Again, moving on.

I handed Meredith the manila envelope. “That’s for you.”

Her brows drew together, Dad looked down at her and she opened the clasps on the envelope.

“It’s just a formality,” I stated, suddenly feeling nervous. “And it was Cabe’s idea. I mean, really, it happened on your wedding day when you let me walk down the aisle with you. I’m just making it official.”

She pulled out the papers and looked at me. “Making what official?”

“Those are adoption papers. If you sign them, I’m legally your daughter.”

Everyone sucked in breath but Meredith’s mouth dropped open and her eyes got big. I could usually read Meredith, heck, anyone could but I couldn’t read that. I didn’t know what to expect when I gave the papers to her but I’d daydreamed about it a lot. I knew she loved me but it was a posh, anniversary party at McCormick’s, she wasn’t going to do cartwheels, she couldn’t, not in four inch heels. But I’d hoped at least for a smile.

Therefore I rushed on. “I know, it’s kinda loopy, adopting a thirty-three year old woman but… um… why not?” I faltered when she just stared at me and I wondered if I’d insulted her. “I mean… I don’t want to imply that I haven’t always thought of you as my Mom but I just want to… I don’t know, make sure you know that, uh… that’s how I feel and it always has been.”

Meredith didn’t move nor did she speak.

“You don’t have to sign them,” I assured her. “It’s okay. Nothing between us changes. I –”

I shut up when she jerked her body toward Dad and whispered, “Find me a pen, Bax.”

She asked Dad but it was Gus who took off, Hawk’s arm curled around my neck and he pulled my front into his side as the tears filled my eyes.

Meredith looked up at me. “Now… sweetie, now I don’t know what to say.”

“Sign the papers, that says it all,” Hawk replied for me but he did it gently.

Meredith looked down at the papers and when she lifted her eyes back to me they were filled with wet.

“This is the best present I’ve ever had,” she whispered.

Tracy emitted a muted sob and I moved away from Hawk and hugged Meredith as a tear slid down my cheek.

“I’ve always loved you,” I said quietly in her ear and her arms spasmed around me. “I think I fell in love with you the first time I saw you.”

“Oh sweetie,” she whispered, holding on tighter so I did too.

We hugged for a long time then I pulled away and Meredith moved into Hawk and gave him a squeeze and kiss on the cheek. Then Gus showed with a pen, she signed the papers, put them in the envelope and when she handed them to me, I handed them to Hawk. He folded the envelope double and slid it into his inside jacket pocket. It was his attorney’s firm that had drawn up the papers and it would probably be Elvira who returned them to be filed.

“I need a reload,” Elvira announced and I looked at her to see her eyes were on Hawk. “And your woman has been here all of five minutes and she doesn’t have a martini glass in her hand. What? You think you can buy her twelve hundred dollar shoes and that gives you the right to slack on bein’ a gentleman?”

Tracy giggled.

But I turned, leaned into Hawk and looked up at him. “Actually, just FYI, giving me twelve hundred dollar shoes totally gives you the right to slack on drink deliveries.”

Hawk’s dimples made an appearance then disappeared when I couldn’t see them anymore because his head dropped and his lips gave me a light kiss.

Then he lifted his head and asked all around, “Anyone else?”

“Me,” Tracy put in.

“I already gave my order,” Elvira added.

“A white wine, honey, if you don’t mind,” Meredith stated.

“Cuba libre, querido,” Maria muttered.

“I’ll go with you,” Gus offered and Hawk and Gus walked away but Maria got in my space, so close, it was surprising and I looked down at her.

“My boys,” she started, “look like their father, act like their father and he gave them something else,” she paused then finished on a huge grin, “good taste.”

I stared at her a second then threw my head back and laughed.

* * *

Dinner was over but the party (in other words the drinking) was not.

I was sitting beside Leo but listening to Mrs. Mayhew and Erma, both hilariously tipsy, as they shared stories of Dad and Meredith’s anniversaries past with their other audience member, Elvira.

Suddenly, Leo took my hand and my head turned, my eyes going to his face to see he was gazing across the room.

My eyes followed his and my heart warmed. Cam was standing with Meredith who was holding Cam’s hand by the fingers admiring the diamond Leo had slid on earlier that night when he’d asked her to marry him.

The reason they were late.

“Lingerie parties, darlin’,” I heard Leo whisper in my ear, I smiled and turned to face him. “You promised,” he finished when he caught my eyes.

I squeezed his hand and whispered back, “You happy?”

“She is, so, yeah,” Leo answered.

That was a great freaking answer.

“Love you, babe,” I told him softly.

“Lingerie,” he replied.

“Gotcha,” I whispered on a smile.

“Gwen, can I have a moment?”

Leo and I both twisted our necks and tipped our heads back to see Troy standing there, his face set, looking unhappy.

Shit.

I nodded, squeezed Leo’s hand again and then stood. Troy moved in putting his hand to the small of my back and leading me out of the room. I searched for Hawk as I went so he’d know where I was going and who I was with but I couldn’t find him.

We made it to a hallway and I turned to Troy.

“Troy, I –”

“Just wait a second, Gwen, would you?” he asked tersely and I wondered what was on his mind and why he seemed in such a foul mood. Though it wasn’t hard to guess. Hawk was not shy with public displays of affection and this was coupled with him being an alpha male which meant PDA was liberally mixed with possessive branding moves such as curling his arm around the back of my chair while we were seated or running his hand over my ass when he saw a man’s eyes on that ass, shit like that.

Shit that I’d noticed, as the night wore on, Troy didn’t like much.

We turned a corner and both of us stopped dead on the carpet when we saw Hawk, his back to us, about eight feet down the hall. There was one female hand at his bent head, one arm tight around his back.

I sucked in a silent, searing breath and felt my head reel as Troy’s arm curled around my waist and held tight.

Maybe a nanosecond later Hawk moved, the woman’s arms disappeared and it hit me that he’d set her away and he’d done it roughly.

“What the fuck?” he clipped, his voice so harsh, it was acid and it was a wonder the wallpaper didn’t melt off the walls.